A day for lovers, friends, and strangers
by CheyWolfe
Summary: Ritsuka and Soubi spend Valentine's Day together and Soubi is determined to make it special. One-shot 2/3


Ritsuka should have known something was up once his mother said something about the place she used to work calling to ask if she could fill in on Valentine's Day. He didn't think anything of it, though, so he didn't mention it to Soubi. He also failed to notice that Soubi was wearing an extremely smug smirk the night of February 13th.

"Wake up Ritsuka," A deep voice said in Ritsuka's ear on Valentine's Day morning, a kiss on his lips following the voice. Ritsuka groaned, rolling over, feeling the bed dip under Soubi's weight as the man sat down. Ritsuka didn't want to get up. He really, really didn't. He was exhausted from the previous night and his _activities _with the talented, sexy blonde man currently sitting on his bed.

"No," Ritsuka mumbled, shoving his face in the pillow in order to block out the light coming in from the windows. "Too early." It was a Saturday, Ritsuka remembered, and it was probably around six in the morning. Soubi was here at six am on a Saturday. Ritsuka really thought he had more sense than that.

"Either shut the curtains and come to bed or get out and come back later," He told Soubi, wanting to fall back asleep. Of course, he _wanted_ to spend the day with Soubi, especially with how close they had become in the few years, but his day _could not_ and _would not_ start this early. It would be nice if Soubi would lay with him, but if he had things to do, then he would have to come back later.

"If you really want me to sleep with you, then I will," Soubi said, obviously knowing the implications of his words. Ritsuka still felt pleased that he didn't make any other plans. It was Valentine's Day, after all. It was a day for couples.

Youji had never been romantic. In fact, he was quite the opposite. He understood the implications of Valentine's Day, though, after getting a lecture on it the previous night from Soubi, who had been planning out what he was going to do with Ritsuka. Soubi loved Ritsuka, so he was going to do something for him. Youji loved Natsuo, so shouldn't he do the same for him?

Natsuo was still asleep at eight in the morning, but Youji was wide awake. He had been ever since Soubi left earlier. Youji couldn't see how Soubi could stay up all hours of the night and then get up so early. Youji had gone to bed at ten and woken at five and he was still exhausted. Then again, maybe that was because he hadn't gotten out of bed yet. Well, it wasn't his fault sleeping Natsuo was holding onto him so tightly…

Ritsuka did end up going back to sleep, but not in the way he had planned. It had started with Soubi laying with him shirtless and then the kisses and then Soubi's hand slipping between his legs. After that, Ritsuka was just _gone_. Though, he secretly did think that it was a wonderful way to start the day with a naked, warm Soubi holding him.

Ritsuka awoke next to the shower running and a still-warm spot right next to him. Drowsily, he rolled into Soubi's spot, pressing his face into the pillow that still smelled like the older man as he listened to the shower running. He liked it when Soubi stayed over or when he stayed with Soubi. Soubi barely ever left in the middle of the night, and he hardly ever left Ritsuka alone as he had the previous night. This had angered Ritsuka and he had fallen asleep still angry at Soubi, but he wasn't so angry now…

The shower in Ritsuka's bathroom stopped and Ritsuka perked his ears, picking up sounds of Soubi getting ready in the bathroom. It seemed so common that Ritsuka didn't really think about it anymore. It was pretty common for him to wake up to the quiet sounds of Soubi getting ready, whether it was at his house or at Soubi's apartment. In fact, he had seriously been thinking about moving in with him.

Soubi really, really wanted him to. He asked every day, sometimes more than once. He didn't like Ritsuka living with his mother, who still beat him. He said it was dangerous and that Misaki was only going to get worse, never better. Ritsuka was beginning to think he was right.

"Finally awake?" Soubi asked, surprising Ritsuka, who had fallen into a sort of half-sleep. Ritsuka shook his head, glancing up at him for a moment before going back to snuggling with the pillow Soubi used whenever he stayed over. It was still only eight am. Still too early to be getting up on a weekend.

Soubi grinned, "If you don't get out of bed, I'll drag you out myself and throw you in the shower. Or, if you prefer, we can take a shower together?"

As good as that sounded, Ritsuka had to object, "You already took a shower, and that would take too long, anyways…" They both knew that if they took a shower together, no actual showering would ever get done.

Yayoi was confident. Today was the day he was going to get his girl. It was early in the morning, but he was already sure that he was going to win Yuiko over today. He walked down the street, his head held high, his steps confident and fearless. He held a bouquet of all different kinds of flowers under one arm. He had already texted Yuiko to make sure she was awake.

Yuiko knew that Yayoi was coming over, but what she didn't know was that Yayoi was going to make the first move today, and he _was not_ taking no for an answer.

"Soubi, where are we going?" Ritsuka asked, blindly being steered down the street by Soubi. He had a blindfold on and only Soubi's warm, comforting hands to guide him. "I don't like this," He whimpered, stopping and reaching out, feeling venerable.

"It's alright," Soubi reassured him, giving him a gentle little push. His hands were planted firmly on Ritsuka's shoulders, guiding him slightly to the left. "We're almost there. Just a little more. Trust me, Ritsuka."

"I always trust you," Ritsuka said quietly. Over the past two years, he had come to trust Soubi with his life. He was fourteen now and had never been with anyone but Soubi, but he knew that Soubi was the only person for him. He would never find anyone better. He had seen the way other couples were. They got into fights because one partner didn't care or cheated. That was never going to happen with Soubi and Ritsuka. It just wasn't. Ritsuka was fully prepared to spend his life with the older man.

"Sit down," Soubi told Ritsuka, helping him down safely. He untied the blindfold, letting it fall down into Ritsuka's lap. Soubi smiled down at him, speaking in a low voice, "Recognize this place?"

Yuiko stared at her phone, wanting Ritsuka to call her. It was Valentine's Day, after all. A day for lovers and crushes. If Ritsuka really liked her, he would call, right? Maybe she should call him. That was a good idea. She would wait a little more and then call him. She would ask him if he wanted to go somewhere, like on a date. If he liked her, he would say yes. If not…well, then he would refuse her.

What if Ritsuka was with Soubi? Yuiko wasn't as stupid as she let on. She saw the way Ritsuka looked at Soubi and how casually they talked to each other. Soubi knew everything about Ritsuka and Ritsuka knew everything about Soubi. They held hands when they walked. They hugged. They spoke sweet words to each other. Yuiko had even caught them kissing behind the school once. Actually, they hadn't been _just_ kissing. Soubi's _tongue _had been in Ritsuka's _mouth_. Even from the way they kissed, Yuiko could tell that they weren't just experimenting with each other, they were actually in love.

Yuiko tried. She really, really did. She had tried so hard to make Ritsuka like her, but she was getting absolutely nowhere. They were close friends, but nothing more. Maybe it was time to just give up.

The doorbell to Yuiko's house rang and she bolted up, racing to the door. She hoped and prayed that it was Ritsuka, but when she threw open the door, it was Yayoi standing at the door, holding flowers and smiling. Strangely, though, she wasn't disappointed. She threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him off his feet, and hugged him close in the way that she had seen Soubi hug Ritsuka.

"You first kissed me here," Ritsuka murmured, looking around at the park. His head filled with memories of that first day, of taking pictures with Soubi here and then being kissed by him. He recalled how he was strangely attracted to him even before he kissed him, how he had stared at the beautiful blonde mysterious man and found himself attracted to him. He had tried to deny his attraction to lovely, romantic, wonderful Soubi. He had tried to think that Soubi lying to him meant that he shouldn't feel anything towards Soubi, but he found himself with feelings for him, anyways.

Yet, he had still tried to deny any sort of romantic feelings towards him, this time using the argument that their relationship was wrong. He spent countless sleepless nights wondering why being with another man was so wrong, and even more nights wondering what was so bad about their age gap. He only had feelings for Soubi, but he knew that he was gay. He had never been attracted to women. It was only males, and to particularly Soubi.

"That's right," Soubi held something out to Ritsuka, something that Ritsuka recognized instantly as Soubi's extremely old digital camera. "I was thinking we could make some more memories today. We haven't done that in awhile."

Ritsuka took the camera from Soubi's hand, "We made memories last Friday, remember? I still have to print off the pictures."

"I know, but how about we make special memories today?" Soubi reached over, stroking one of Ritsuka's kitten ears. Yes, Ritsuka was sexually active with Soubi, but he was still a virgin. Soubi had said he'd take him when they were both ready, but until then, they could do everything short of sex.

"Special memories?" Ritsuka repeated. He then added in a quieter tone, "Every memory that I make with you is special."

Soubi was pulling him back on his feet again and leading him off towards his house, giving absolutely no explanation.

Youji stood in the kitchen, nearly covered in flour and thinking of how mad Soubi was going to be when he came home and saw the mess that used to be the kitchenette. He was probably going to make Youji clean it all up and then give him some other cruel form of punishment, such as shoveling the mounds of snow off of the apartment complex roof the small apartment was on. Or, if he got mad enough over it, he'd make Youji clean the entire house.

He had managed to make a measly breakfast on a tray for Natsuo, though, and he was proud of himself for that. Shaking the white flour off of him, he picked up the tray and hurried to the bed pushed up in the far corner of the large room. The apartment was so small. There were only three rooms—the main room, the bathroom, and Soubi's room. If Ritsuka was going to move in, it was going to get really crowded.

Youji crawled onto the bed, setting the tray to the side of him and straddling his love. Natsuo sighed and opened his eyes, looking up at Youji.

"Good morning!" Youji kissed Natsuo's lips, taking him by complete surprise. "I made you breakfast. Soubi already left and I destroyed his kitchen, so if he yells at us for that, just say it was my fault."

"Will do," Natsuo smiled, looking over at the breakfast tray. "Your pancake looks like a three-legged elephant."

"It was supposed to be a heart!" Youji pouted. He wasn't a good cook, but he had tried, at least.

Natsuo dipped his finger in the whipped cream on the pancake and then smeared it on a pouting Youji's nose. He sat up, Youji in his lap, and licked it off. He giggled, then, kissing Youji's nose. Youji wrapped his arms around Natsuo's small body, knowing that they could never be apart. They needed each other.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Natsuo."

Ritsuka was exhausted, yet happy. Soubi's special memories had required the two of them driving all over to go to places that had been monumental in their relationship: Ritsuka's school, the park, Ritsuka's balcony, Soubi's apartment, and other places they visited often. The memories had been special, especially since Ritsuka could see how much their relationship had grown over the years.

Ritsuka fell asleep in the car on the way back from the furthest away memory. He dreamed of Soubi, as he did almost every night. It was now late afternoon and Soubi had carried Ritsuka upstairs, telling him to rest on the bed for a few hours. He laid with Ritsuka until the boy fell back asleep. Ritsuka could fell his absence even in his sleep, but he knew Soubi hadn't gone far. He was still in the house…

He awoke to a crash downstairs and immediately rushed down, worried that Soubi had gotten hurt. He found that he had only dropped a rather heavy pot and was alright, but the sight of what he had done took Ritsuka's breath away.

The kitchen and dining area were totally reformed into something more elegant and beautiful. Flickering candles and incense burned on the red satin tablecloths that were now covering the counters and the table. The table was collapsed so that it was only suitable for two people and it was fully set as well. Classical music played softly in the background.

Ritsuka was amazed. He felt very out of place. Even Soubi himself blended right in with the settings, dressed in a suit and looking more attractive than ever. Silently, he rushed back upstairs, dressing in more nicer clothes and grooming himself better.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Kouya blushed, holding out a rose to Yamato, who had just gotten off of work and found Kouya waiting for her right outside the shop. The rose was red, a sign of the love Kouya had confessed for her girlfriend and Sacrifice years ago. Secretly, she had been a little upset that Yamato had had to work on Valentine's Day.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you, too," Yamato took the rose, smiling happily. She stepped forward, kissing Kouya's forehead and then whispering, "Will you buy me a doughnut after dinner?"

Kouya just sighed and took Yamato's hand, the two of them walking in perfect sync.

Soubi was even more stunning up close, Ritsuka decided, as the boy descended down the stairs to see Soubi waiting for him at the bottom. He had that wonderful smile on his face, the one that made Ritsuka want to hold him close all night long. When Ritsuka reached the third step from the bottom, he stopped on instinct, waiting for Soubi to move.

Instead the older man took his hand and bowed slightly, making Ritsuka blush. "Will you accompany me to dinner tonight, my dear Ritsuka?" He asked, his eyes meeting Ritsuka's.

Usually, Ritsuka would've said something like 'people don't talk like that anymore, Soubi', but tonight he was just too stunned by everything to respond like that. He also felt the strange need to keep up the vibe of the entire thing, so he replied in a way he usually wouldn't have, "I will."

Meanwhile, two lonely souls meet at a bar by pure chance. One a college student with a major crush on his best friend, the other a lonely twenty-three year-old virgin teacher. This is how certain things start—by pure chance, and this is how these two friendly, but alone people met. It started with the woman blushing whenever the young man looked at her, and the man decided to move to a seat next to her, striking a conversation almost instantly. Neither of them knew just how much they were connected through the man's friend and one of the woman's pupil, but they still found themselves connecting with each other.

Hours and hours later, Ritsuka laid on Soubi's chest, both of them naked or nearly naked. Soubi rubbed Ritsuka's back, his other hand stroking the boy's hair and kitten ears.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Soubi," Ritsuka whispered, wanting this to never end.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ritsuka," Soubi responded, clearly drifting off to sleep.

Ritsuka thought it was safe, so he said very, very quietly, "I love you."

And he knew he heard Soubi's reply of a surprised 'I love you, too', but at that moment, he really didn't care. He knew Soubi loved him. He had known that for years and now he could finally say it back to him. Nothing else mattered now, nothing besides the two of them.

* * *

**Here's a happy fic! I stayed up late to finish this!**

**Anyways this is 2/3 for my Valentine's Day fics. **

**Review, please!**

**~Wolfie  
**


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